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Hold Your Horses

I’m pleased to present my latest artist book, Hold Your Horses.

The book consists of a hand-bound portfolio (in various one-of-a-kind colors) that…well..holds some horses.

I figured it was only a matter of time before I did another print set like I did with the birds.

This time, though, I picked my favorite equine breeds,

took the opportunity to push the envelope of what hand-coloring could do,

and even experimented with some wacky painting techniques.

I’m really happy with how these turned out, and I can’t wait to show them off at Codex in February!

Colophon reads:
I am not a member of the horsey set. I grew up far too poor for riding lessons, and I can’t claim ever to have used the phrase “saddle up” in the literal sense. Yet horses are as much a part of me as of any American who ever looked westward in wonder. They are living symbols of the wildness that still infuses our deepest desires—even if they no longer permeate our everyday culture.

I never had a pony as a child, but now I can boast a round dozen. Enclosed here is my very own horsey set, displayed in an equine rainbow of dapple grays, strawberry roans, pale palominos, skewbald bays and rich chestnuts. This assembly gathers an assortment of traits and histories to tell the story of our fascination with horses. Each mount stands surrounded by the trappings of its trade or the symbols of its origins.

These trusty steeds were letterpress printed and individually hand-painted in Tacoma, Washington—at the very end of a frontier founded on horsepower. Twelve breeds were printed in an edition of 57 impressions apiece; the entire herd is corraled in thirteen saddle-bag sets.

UPDATE (May 2014): a Hold Your Horses set is now part of the permanent collections at both the Phoenix Public Library and the University of Virginia Library! So if you’re local to either of those places, you can go check them out in person!

You’ll find individual horse prints in the shop.

Giddy up!